KELLY-MILLER NEWSPAPER ARTICLE #2

Kelly Miller Circus packed full of action
Lisa VanOver Times news correspondent May 6, 2009
MOORESVILLE
A bright red big top arose in the Mooresville High School parking lot Sunday, with pony rides and lots of anticipation in the air. The Kelly Miller Circus was in town. Every two years, the Mooresville Kiwanis Club sponsors the circus as a community service for the children and their families.
There was plenty of excitement in the big top with ringmaster John Ringling North.
He had Casy Cainan and his five Siberian tigers perform, and Natalie Cainan brought out her American Eskimo dogs to do tricks and antics on ladders, hoops and a high-jump course.
There were three performing clowns, juggling acts beyond belief and a high-energy Hula Hoop show. That’s not to mention the acrobats, who performed balancing and aerial swing feats, as well as rope routines.

Kiwanis president Jim Forester rode “Tracy,” one of the performing elephants, during the show.
“I really enjoyed riding Tracy, and it’s all in good fun — after all, it’s for the kids,” Forester said.
“Our mission is to make people happy. We try to do just that with our one-ring wonder,” said North. “We try to provide an action-packed, fun-filled circus experience.”
According to the brochure, the circus was begun in 1938 by Obert Miller and his sons, Kelly and Dory. The Al G. Kelly Miller Brothers Circus, now known simply as Kelly Miller, has entertained millions of American and Canadian citizens while establishing itself in the fabric and history of the American Tented Circus.
From 1984 through 2006, David Rawls, president and third-generation circus performer, directed Kelly Miller Circus. In 2007, another exciting chapter in its history began when he passed the reins to John Ringling North II. His great uncles were the famous Ringling Brothers, and his grandmother was their only sister. Born into this most famous of circus families, North grew up on the “Greatest Show on Earth,” learning circus operation from his father Henry Ringling North and uncle John Ringling North.
The show travels on a fleet of 25 vehicles and requires an area of some 90,000 square feet on which to set up. The circus big top, imported from Italy, has a seating capacity of 1,500 and is made of waterproof vinyl. The tent is 120 feet by 130 feet and 40 feet high. It is supported by more than a quarter of a mile of heavy gauge aluminum tubing, as well as several miles of rope, steel cable and chain. The elephants pull the big top into the air, and the public is always invited to be part of the circus setup day.
North said the circus is based in Oklahoma and travels 10 months out of the year.